Friday, December 21, 2012

Hakushu Sherry Cask 2013

Suntory’s annual Yamazaki Sherry Cask has been a whisky fan favorite and 2012 saw the inaugural release of the Hakushu Sherry Cask (Hakushu new-make aged entirely in carefully selected sherry casks). It sold out rather quickly even for a limited release of 3,000 bottles and there was no clear indication that there would be subsequent releases like the Yamazaki. Fortunately, Suntory just announced that it is indeed releasing a 2013 Hakushu Sherry Cask. The release date across Japan is set for February 5th. Like before, the 2013 release will be limited to 3,000 bottles and will come in at 48%ABV with a sticker price of 9,000 yen.

The demand for Hakushu has increased significantly. According to Suntory, sales were up 307% during the months of January through November 2012 from the prior year. With that, I imagine this release will not be on the shelves very long – if at all.

7 comments:

Hi, If I were to try my luck on Feb 5th, where in Tokyo do you think I can get this at when it comes out? You think anyone would be generous enough to hold one for a customer? Very excited about this announcement.

Probably the big department stores are your safest bet. The liquor shops (especially those with an online presence) will sell out of their allocation in a flash. As far as holding one for a customer... I think you can forget about that. Too much competition. They'd it if they knew you (i.e. if you were a good customer), but a first-time customer, no chance I'd say. Hope this helps.

Thank you Stefan for the suggestion! My brother was able to get a bottle from Yokohama SODO department store. They were nice to call back once they have it in stock (they had no clue it was even coming in). From what he told me, there was only 5 on the shelf and he took 2 bottles already =/ pretty slim supply. Delicious though! I don't know how it compares with the yamazaki sherry casks or past hakushu sherry releases.

Thanks for the update. Glad to hear you managed to get hold of a couple of bottles. That's quite a feat... I myself I only managed to get my hands on one! I think it's a stunning whisky, and worthy of the hype.

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